Warrior Cats: Shattered Unity

Chapter One

Vulcan sat under a canopy of wet leaves, he was sobbing profusely. His fur was charred and burnt. It was nearly morning, he had sat in one spot for hours.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Haze." he sniffled, wiping his sore eyes.

The bushes behind him rustled around, his ears perked and he whipped around. Fearful that those cats had come back to kill him, he crouched down and hissed in the direction of the sound. A cat as black as the night itself padded out of the bush, his right ear was cuffed and he has emerald green eyes. 

"Don't fret, I won't kill you. My name is Uriel, you are?" the strange cat said with a cold tone.

"I'm, hum, I'm Vulcan. Nice to meet you Uriel?" Vulcan replied, he seemed to calm down a bit.

Vulcan and Uriel sat down, Vulcan eyeing the dark cat cautiously. Uriel cleaned his paws out of sheer boredom. Mid-lick, Uriel looked up at Vulcan in a stare. Vulcan looked away, this interaction was getting very awkward. 

"You spoked of a "Haze"? Who is this?" Uriel asked in an attempt to get a conversation going.

"It's, nobody. I just knew her for awhile." Vulcan stared at his paws, Uriel stared at him nervously.

Vulcan sighed, looking at Uriel with a gaze that spoke to him without words. He slouched down, his eyes half-lidded as he was up all night. Uriel's ears perked as he glanced at a depressed Vulcan, he thought of something he could do to possibly help him.

"C'mon, we should be moving." Uriel said, standing up.

They both started walking, Vulcan followed Uriel where he went. They both started running, leaping over logs and debris from the storm. They both laughed as Vulcan tripped, Uriel landing on top of him. Uriel stepped off of Vulcan and help him up, they were both giggling and having fun. The sun was almost fully risen, Uriel and Vulcan both had climbed a tree to watch the sunrise. Vulcan would smile at Uriel, he would nod back to Vulcan. This friendship could mean a lot to Vulcan, especially after such a great loss.

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Lingeringwind was training his apprentice Soaringpaw some fighting techniques, Laughingadder was watching them proudly. Soaringpaw successfully tackled and pinned Lingeringwind, he nodded his head at the apprentice to show approval of the young cat. 

"You are getting so good at fighting Soaringpaw, you will make a fine warrior someday." Lingeringwind mewed.

"Thanks! I can't wait to be a warrior." Soaringpaw purred.

Lingeringwind noticed Laughingadder scenting something, he would do the same but to his surprise he caught wind of Laurelkit. The warriors scattered, leaving Soaringpaw alone. He sat in the middle of the training area, eyeing the lush scenery around him. He heard a bush rustle, he looked at the bush confused as he didn't smell prey or any predators.

"Laurelkit? Where are you Laurelkit?" Lingeringwind called out, searching for the runaway kit.

"Laurelkit! If you come back, I'll tell you a story!" Laughingadder bribed.  

After frantically running around looking for her, Lingeringwind and Laughingadder finally found the kit playing with a bunch of flowers. 

"Laurelkit! Don't you know it's dangerous going outside camp!" Laughingadder scolded.

"I'm sorry! It was so boring and I wanted to explore!" Laurelkit squeaked.

Lingeringwind sighed, picking up the kit by the scruff. He had almost forgot he left his apprentice from their training, he had to return and finish it. 

"Please take Laurelkit to camp Laughingadder, I have to train with Soaringpaw." 

Laughingadder nodded, picking up Laurelkit and taking them to camp with him. Lingeringwind scented something strange, but thought nothing of it, though the smell got stronger every stride he made to the training area. He was finally there, but was shocked and horrified to lock eyes with Soaringpaw's body. 

"Soaringpaw!" Lingeringwind screamed, running over to his deceased apprentice. 

He looked around the horrifying sight, he saw tattered and torn fur from both Soaringpaw and someone else. He laid beside Soaringpaw, the guilt setting in quickly. If he had taken Soaringpaw with him this wouldn't have happened. 

He scented cats of his clan coming closer, fast. Three cats stumbled into the area to find Lingeringwind and Soaringpaw's corpse. These cats were Ospreystar, Junipercrash, and her apprentice Screechingpaw. They all stood in shock, besides Screechingpaw whom rushed to Soaringpaw's side. What made it worse was that Screechingpaw and Soaringpaw were sisters, seeing this tore Screechingpaw apart. 

A couple hours after the incident, Ospreystar was preparing a speech and a moment to share tongues with Soaringpaw for the last time. He wondered why so many horrible things were happening, he even blamed himself for what happened. He thought about what Softflight told him, he had to stay strong even if it hurt to for his clan's sake.